And just so lovely.  I knit this in BMFA Socks that Rock Mediumweight, in Mossay, a really beautiful color.

Normally, I’d take pictures of the lace blocking.  However, I’m not going to block this one.  I realized that as it is now, it fits perfectly.  Blocking would screw that up.  So instead, here’s a picture of me wearing my wisp after having just walked the dog.

Hey, I never said it was pretty.  But it works like a charm.  I figured I might as well do the “awkward picture in the bathroom mirror with the cell phone” since there’s no way to make this look elegant.

Besides, everyone needs a chance to laugh.

It was perfect.  Worked splendidly.  Was hard to replace.  That’s when I knew, inevitably it would get lost.  So I picked up some yarn to begin knit one for the husband.  I figured I could steal his when mine went a walkabout.

Recently, I cast on for my replacement wisp (sadly, the day later my finished one vanished-> along with the unseasonably warm weather)

Wisp, knit in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca laceweight (70% alpaca, 30% silk)  I chose this color because it’s very gender neutral, as I’m hoping to knit one for my husband, so I can steal it when I misplace my own.

And from Land O’ Lace, a skein of Kayla, 100% silk, in this silvery Tonka Bay colorway. Just gorgeous. Clearly a scarf or shawl in the making!

I guess I was really in the mood for silvery when I won!

Thanks to our wonderful sponsors!

But now I have succeeded at last! And I can share with you all my super-duper excitement at getting 9 stitchmarkers (9!) from the totally fantastic Gloria Patre. Thank you so much, Gloria. They are gorgeous. The tea is also much appreciated; I am of the strong opinion that no problem – not even gauge issues – is so big that it can’t be solved with tea.

I have also been sent the first clue for the With or Without mystery shawl, which I won from Tiziana Sammuri. I am still dithering over yarn choices, but I hope to cast that on very soon. Thank you, and I can’t wait to be surprised by it.

All in all, an excellent start to the new year, don’t you think?

First I picked up 2gorgeous skeins of Samantha in Stitches Footcrazy Sock yarn ( 75% superwash wool, 25% Nylon) in the beautiful Lagoon Colorway.  Since each skein is 450 yards, I’m seeing either a shawlette or, more likely, a pair of knee socks in my future.

The second price I won, I’m so lucky, is 2 skeins of 100% wool from Finland!   I’m not sure what the yarn name is (I’m guessing Yleislanka) but it’s a gorgeous green cobweb weight(?) with 765 yards per skein.  That means that I’ve got over 1500 yards to play with, I’m so excited.

Quick question:  Can anyone explain the difference between lace weight and cobweb to me?

I’d like to thank everyone for donating the prizes.  And thanks to the board moderators who do everything to make SOL work.  You rule.

Best wishes Utlinde

Thank you Cathy! Now I just need to decide what to do with it…

While I was posting this here, I thought I’d mention that I finally finished my Swan Lake which I had been working on this summer.

I originally started this in 2007, restarted it in 2009, and finally finished this fall. (If you would like to see more pictures or details, they are at my blog or my Ravelry project page.)

Looking forward to more lace in the New Year!

Knit with Elann Baby Silk (80% alpaca 20% silk) on size 5 needles.  If I were to do this again, I’d go up a bit in needle size.  It came out a bit smaller than I was expecting.  Hopefully it’ll make a good present regardless.

Resurrection Lace:

alittlefuzzy won a skein from one of Twisted Fiber Arts lovely color-changing yarn, Muse, 50% silk / 50% merino, 300 yards of fingering to sport weight, in the “Warlock” colorway (purples) and “Evolution” style of dyeing, with gradual color changes donated by our own Cathy-Cate of Hither and Yarn.

knittindiva won a pattern of her choice from Laura of Fiber Dreams.

Support Our Sponsors:

It was already announced that escr won the Mackintosh yarn but we didn’t announce that shadowdancer won a pattern of her choice from our own mwhite.

Rock Island KAL:

strangeangel won a skein of Krissy lace weight yarn from Bev at Land O’ Lace.

midnightsheep won a skein of Chiminea, — approximately Approx. 600 yards of Extra Fine Lace Yarn (1.8 oz) 70% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk, and 10% Cashmere donated by Collette of Lazy Perry Ranch.

Both Land o’ Lace and Lazy Perry Ranch are new sponsors this season.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Beaded Lace:

thislittlepiggy won a skein of Suri Elegance in Rosebud Pink (875 yards, 100% suri alpaca) donated by our own Sligo of Sligo’s Muse

alpacaknitter has won a pattern of her choice from Sandra Singh‘s the Sandrasingh.com Exclusive Collection.  This collection does not always include lace designs — perhaps Sandra is inviting us to expand our horizons.

Gift Lace:

cgirl has won two lovely skeins of Footcrazy(75% Superwash Wool/25%Nylon, 100g, approx 450 yds) in Lagoon donated by Samantha of Samantha in Stitches,

Sligo has won a skein of lace yarn Kayla from Bev at Land O’ Lace.

Season Spanning:

Our own shadowdancer has won a skein of Touch merino 2-ply (100% pure merino, 900 yds) Hand Dyed by Marnie Kelley donated by Fantail Fibres.

strangeangel has won a pattern of her choice from Kitman Figueroa.

Again, Congratulations to all the winners. Enjoy.

Wee Lace:
cgirl won 2 skeins of Yleislanka ( 700 meters each, 100% wool singles from Finland) donated by Sligo of Sligo’s Muse.

An… cmelvin won a set of Stitch markers from Gloria Patrie

Small Lace:

MLO won a skein of Lady Katie from one of our new sponsors, Land o Lace in the color of her choice.

Janine2001 won a set of Gloria Patrie‘s stitch markers

Medium Lace:

Sligo won 6 skeins of Panda Silk Yarn from Crystal Palace Yarns

escr won the third set of stitch markers from Gloria Patrie.

Congratulations to all our winners.

Should I start with the contests or the raffles?

Contests!!!

Lace on Display:
Our First place winner was nominated in all the contest categories but came out 1st here (and close to 2nd in V’sC):

mwhite and her 3/4 time shawl

have won the wonderful yarn and pattern kit from BBknits.

Our second place winner is kcatt79′s Emily Dickinson

who has won the Niebling book donated by our own knitsbyteri.

Lace Partnership:

1st place goes to titnil for her Cerasifera.

She has won the lovely Ellyn Cooper yarn Sonnets dontated by kcatt79.

2nd place goes to cathy-cate for her Not Quite a Citron shawl.

She has won a copy of the entire set of pattern in the Two Towers Collection from Susan Pandorf of Sunflower Designs.

Viewer’s Choice:

Our 1st place winner is janinemy2001 for her lovely Aeolian Shawl.

She has won the beautiful Blue Moon Fiber Arts Yarn and pattern.

Our 2nd place goes to utlinde for her original design – Horus.

She has won a $40 gift certificate from Briar Rose Fibers.

I’ve been having a fling! Whew……feels so good to finally confess. Seriously though, this project has been way more fun than anything that might cause problems within my marriage and I’ve learned many new knitting techniques in the process. Let’s see, the Dainty, pink fling is made from a gorgeous yarn from Knitpicks called Shimmer  “Blush”  in a lace weight of baby alpaca and silk. Little silver stellina threads run throughout the skein and give a nice, dainty shine to the project.  I chose to keep this one simple and just added a few nupps between the 5 petal, modified version of the Estonian Blossom stitch pattern. Next, based on one of my favorite flowers, the Fan Flower for which the shawl is named, I chose a Merino/Silk from BBKnits’ Lavish Lace collection in a colorway that  Bette calls “Lady Lavender” to simulate the flower’s common coloring.  I added  silver lined, 8/0 beads to make it fancy……nice, huh? Finally, in honor of the holiday season with its get-togethers and parties, I worked the pattern in a black colorway called “Ninja” from Nerd Girl’s Stellar collection and added beads in a galvanized silver to highlight……great for a light wrap.  I do so hope that you all like….no, I really hope that you love! The pattern is available on Earthfaire.com and can be purchased alone or in a kit with beads and yarn. The Earthfaire group on Ravelry will host a KAL for the pattern sometime soon. It’s a quick little project once the concept and techniques are understood so there’s plenty of time to make one before upcoming holiday gatherings.  I’ve also listed it for sale on Ravelry and Patternfish as well.  Thanks for looking and I hope that you will all enjoy a wonderful Christmas season…..may Santa stuff your stockings, Mom stuff your bellies and may the New Year bring you happiness and renewal of spirit.

My bedspread:

And my shawl: (the first one was before going to a costume party where I dressed up victorian style).

What I didn’t anticipate is that I would finish off my lace yarn today already, but that 100% Corridale, colourway “Dennes Point” by The Thylacene fibers, that I got a mere couple of days ago was amazing to spin and work went practically all by itself.

I figure spinning my own yarn for my lace shawls might well become a habit from here on. Probably I’m just getting too picky about it

So here it is, my handspun lace yarn for Winter of Lace 2011/12.

Now all I need is a pattern to compliment the yarn